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A Lockean Argument for Black Reparations

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Abstract

This is a defense of blackreparations using the theory of reparations setout in John Locke's The Second Treatise ofGovernment. I develop two mainarguments, what I call the ``inheritanceargument'' and the ``counterfactual argument,''both of which have been thought to fail. In nocase do I appeal to the false ideas that presentday United States citizens are guilty ofslavery or must pay reparation simply becausethe U.S. Government was once complicit in thecrime.

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Boxill, B.R. A Lockean Argument for Black Reparations. The Journal of Ethics 7, 63–91 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022826929393

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022826929393

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